1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wiring installations and more particularly to wiring installations in aircraft electronics bays, main instrument panels or overhead panels which require extremely complex wiring of multiple systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the patent literature U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,215 to Hargrave, et al. shows a telephone line access system for main distribution frame that employs access blocks comprising sockets and pins for coupling two rows of lightning protectors. One or more integrated circuit modules are attached to each access block and these may be readily affixed to and disconnected from a main distribution frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,261 to Scerbo et al. shows a method for optimizing cable routing in the distribution panels for an office environment. Means are described for minimizing crossovers and cable lengths. Optimization is based on crossovers and length in contrast to the present method which considers separation requirements. Also Scerbo, et al. is hardwired in contrast to the present method of using connectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,298 to Casa et al. is illustrative of high density circuit computer assemblies, while U.S. Pat. No. 2,098,321 to Treptow is illustrative of distributing frames in telephone systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,819 to Fujitani et al. shows an electric wire branching device used for forming branching circuits in a wire harness (bundle) system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,964 to Minerd et al. shows a method of controlling DC devices on a serial data bus by providing a programmable connector module which eliminates the massive amounts of interconnective wiring in conventional electromechanical driven systems for controlling a machine.
The problems of wiring separation, congestion, integration, routing, cross-connected wire bundles, and disconnects in aircraft installations have been tolerated and accepted without solution, the traditional method of complex wiring of multiple systems being to hand wire from a connector at the peripheral device to another at e.g., an overhead panel or directly into the overhead panel. There has been no consistent system for achieving wire separation, avoiding cross-connects or minimizing connections or any attempts made to solve the congestion problem during aircraft final assembly.
This invention employs a plural-level system to achieve simplicity. Each panel is analyzed to assign wire separation categories for every required connection, then one or more connectors (designated separation dedicated connectors) are incorporated for each category. The opposite end of the system is composed of a set of xe2x80x9cintegration disconnectsxe2x80x9d. The connections on these are determined by performing a wire separation category analysis on the wires coming into the instrument bay from the peripherals in a given physical area (called a destination area) and assigning at least one connector for each category. The third portion of the system is composed of the xe2x80x9cintegration wire bundlesxe2x80x9d. These are designed with breakouts from the bundle body so that they connect the proper terminals of the dedicated separation connectors to the proper terminals of the integration disconnects. In addition to the above advantages, the present invention importantly practically eliminates the need for doing hand wiring at final assembly. The features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent hereinafter from a detailed description of the invention and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the attached drawing of a preferred embodiment.